The present invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for use in supporting masonry lintels and, more particularly it is directed to a system for adjustably supporting a spine to be concealed within the lintel. In its more specific aspects, the invention is concerned with such a support system which enables the use of a concealed support, maintains the standard grout width and accommodates various widths of masonry and various tolerances, without requiring a precisely pre-constructed lintel support for each job.
It is well known in the art to use supports for masonry lintels. Most of these supports, however, are disposed beneath the lintel and, accordingly, exposed to view. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,020,612, 4,202,143, 4,757,656, 5,465,558 and the exposed roof truss of U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,801. It is also known to reinforce brick walls supported on piers through means of internal reinforcing elements which extend longitudinally through a passage therefor in the wall so that the elements are concealed, as may be seen from U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,254.
The prior art concealed lintel system of HALFEN Anchoring Systems employs a steel spine that spans the opening being arched and rests on bearing plates at each end. Cored bricks are suspended from the spine through means of “horseshoe” plates that hang on the spine at every third brick joint and stitching rods which extend through openings in the plates and the bricks. During the course of construction, the bricks are supported on a framework and the openings in the bricks and plates, with the rods extending therethrough are packed with mortar. Grout is placed between the bricks, with the result that the spine support is totally concealed. The bearing plates supporting the spine on the piers are welded to the spine and grouted into place on the piers.
The present invention is an improvement over the concealed lintel system of HALFEN in that the bearing plates at either end of the spine are adjustable to accommodate various size and tolerance masonry units and maintain a standard grout width. As a result, the spine of the present invention does not need to be custom designed and fabricated for each project, as was necessary with the welded spine and support plate construction of the prior art HALFEN System.